Thursday was a night of flashbulbs and celebrations with a crowd of 30,317 at The Home Depot Center—an HDC record for a soccer match.

The Spanish giants brought a cavalcade of stars and did not disappoint by tallying five goals against the LA Galaxy. In particular, Brazilian midfield maestro Kaka and Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain shined as they created chance after chance in an electric first half for Real Madrid.

LA did not roll down; however, as defender David Junior Lopes tallied the lone goal for the Galaxy.

LIMITED MINUTES FOR THE STARTERS

With an important league game against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday, Bruce Arena opted to use his starting XI for just 45 minutes against the reigning La Liga champions.

Back from his Olympic obligations, David Beckham returned to his familiar role in the center of the Galaxy midfield. Despite missing the last week of training, Beckham was back in full form as he created several fine scoring chances.

However, the night belonged to defender Omar Gonzalez, who appeared right at home in his familiar spot in the Galaxy back four. Time and time again, Gonzalez made big play after big play as he was able to hold Madrid’s offense at bay for much of the night.

GALAXY YOUNGSTERS SHINE IN SECOND HALF

With the Galaxy’s starters off the field, head coach Bruce Arena opted to give his youngest players the test of a lifetime by matching them against Real Madrid’s stars.

Despite being up against the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil, the Galaxy’s youngsters were up to the task, standing toe to toe with the Spanish giants while limiting them to a pair of goals. The finest moment came in the 86th minute when Real had an open look at goal, but were denied by a pair of timely clearances from the Galaxy defense.

But none shined brighter than Brian Perk, who was under tremendous pressure throughout the half and was able to make several point blank saves on the likes of Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider